Yemen dispute could hurt Lebanon

BEIRUT — Lebanon is going above and beyond to maintain internal security and stability, despite the shaky situation in various Arab countries. This quest was finally represented by the dialogue between the Sunni Future Movement and Shiite Hezbollah, launched on Dec. 23, 2014, under the banner of alleviating tensions between Sunnis and Shiites, and is still ongoing, sparing the country security problems and neutralizing the region’s conflicts.

However, Operation Decisive Storm, the Saudi Arabia-led military operation launched March 25 in Yemen, sent the internal situation in Lebanon out of the frying pan and straight into the fire. The operation contributed to fueling the political debate between the pro-Saudi Future Movement and Hezbollah, which supports the Houthis in Yemen, who are backed by Iran.

After the two Lebanese parties agreed during the 10 rounds of dialogue to neutralize the controversial issues — the Syrian crisis and the Lebanese presidential elections — in a way that helps control the street, the war in Yemen created a new challenge.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah launched a severe verbal attack on Saudi Arabia in a televised speech March 27, describing the “Arab leaders of being lazy” and saying that “Saudi Arabia has not done anything for the Arabs, except creating the Islamic State.”